


Blue Seas, Dark Skies

by DaPokemonMadster, skyegroves



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Adventures on the high seas with the kids, F/F, F/M, I'm sure more relationship tags will be added as the story goes on, M/M, Pirate AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2018-12-20 22:10:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11930313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaPokemonMadster/pseuds/DaPokemonMadster, https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyegroves/pseuds/skyegroves
Summary: When Lucina takes her cousin Owain up on his offer of an adventure on the high seas, she's not quite sure what to expect. But she certainly never imagined she'd be helping her crew to save the world, fighting deadly sea zombies, and getting close with the most distant and prickly of them all; the lookout called Severa.





	1. The Infinite Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I've been working on this project for a while, and I'm so very excited to finally post chapter one! My friend skyegroves (ladycelicas on tumblr) has been helping me flesh out ideas, plot points and relationships as well as being there for me to bounce all my ideas off of. She also helps me figure out if things aren't working in a chapter and what not. So big shout out to her!! Anyways, please prepare yourselves for lots of Awkward Luci™ and other fun things as we set out on the high seas!!

Lucina was jolted from slumber at a clattering sound from just outside her window. Silently, she sat up, reaching for Falchion with one hand and clutching at her sheets with the other. The clattering came again, more insistent, and she stalked towards the open window. A pebble flew in along with the night breeze, bouncing along the floor of her room before rolling to a halt underneath her dresser, and she peered out of her window. A cloaked figure stood in the grounds below her window. Her grip tightened on Falchion before-

“Ho there, dear cousin of mine!” Lucina sighed in exasperation, before smiling and setting her weapon down.

“Owain! I wasn’t expecting you tonight!” She called, trying to keep her voice as low as possible so as not to wake anyone inside the castle.

“Well, the time was nigh and the stars aligned! This was the most opportune moment, so I came to retrieve you, that is, if you’re still up for this?” Owain flashed her a grin, lowering his hood. Lucina nodded resolutely.

“I am. I’ll be right there. Just… try and keep your voice down. You’re lucky that the guard hasn’t heard you yet!” Hurriedly, Lucina padded to her dresser, curling her feet at the cold, worn stone of the floor. She carefully pulled open the drawer where the clothes she had picked out for this very occasion were sitting in a neatly folded pile. She tugged her white nightgown over her head, leaving it in a heap on the floor, a silvery pool in the shafts of moonlight coming from the window. Dressing quickly, she fastened a belt to her waist and sheathed Falchion at her side before reaching under her bed for a tightly coiled rope. She wouldn’t risk the echoing hallways and stairs, her father’s hearing was nothing to be trifled with. Fastening one end of the rope to a leg of her bed, she gently fed the other end through the window. She gave a firm tug on the rope, and, satisfied that it was securely anchored, swung herself out the window and leant her full weight into it. She rappelled downwards as quickly as she dared, before reaching the ground. Owain dramatically swept out a hand towards her.

“As nimble as ever, princess Luci!” He exclaimed, giving her his goofiest grin. She returned the smile, clasping his outstretched hand in her own.

“Thank you, sir Owain! You yourself are as chivalrous as the last time we met!” Lucina made a mock curtsy. “But really, we must be going. The guard could come around any second, and I’d like to have as much time for our trail to go cold as possible. We shouldn’t underestimate my father’s tracking skills.”

“Good point, fair maiden! Then away we shall go,” He gestured grandly to a portion of the castle wall, hidden behind a screen of bushes. “You know, they really should get this wall fixed.”

“Hah! But Owain, where would we be if they fixed the hole? We’d never be able to sneak out!” Lucina teased, and the two of them easily slipped through the small opening.

“You’ve stumped me yet again!” Owain said, in mock defeat. Lucina allowed Owain to take the lead, following him around the corner of the castle walls, and into the grove of trees beyond.

“This way, m’lady. Stick to the shadows, for we will not be seen if we are one with the night!” He said, in a low, theatrical tone. Lucina giggled to herself, and complied, darting from the shadows of one tree to the next.

It was a chilly night. Colder than Lucina had expected, and she was glad the garb she’d prepared was warm. Her breath frosted, and curled upwards towards the sky. The trunks of the trees seemed black in the dim light, and the sky was a patchwork of watery gray moonlight and the dark underbellies of the clouds scudding along with the stiff breeze. Lucina thought that it looked a bit like a map, each cloud an island in an ever-changing silver sea. A parallel, perhaps, of the mysterious adventure she had just flung herself into.

“Here we are. Luci, allow me to introduce you to my trusty steed, Mystle! She has carried me from the far reaches of Ylisse, under the blackened night sky and cover of darkness, kept me safe from harm, been at my side through thick and thin, and all this since I met her this morning!” Owain joked, bowing deeply to Lucina.

“Oh, Owain! She’s lovely!” Lucina said, giggling as the horse snorted and nibbled at her tunic, “But I thought you didn’t like horses? You were never the best rider.”

“Well, I’ll admit I’ve got more than my fair share of bruises just from trying to ride her over here to you. But while _I_ may not keep good company with the beasts, you certainly do, and I’d never want to disappoint my cousin! Besides, I’ve grown rather fond of this particular girl,” Owain said, gently stroking Mystle’s neck. “Not to mention that we’d do best to move as quickly as possible. Would you take the reigns, m’lady?”

“With pleasure!” Lucina replied, putting her foot into a stirrup and swinging herself over Mystle’s back. Giving Owain a hand, she helped him swing up to sit behind her. He wrapped his arms around her middle, and she tapped her heels into the horse’s sides.

“You’ll have to give me directions, where are we headed?” She asked, as the wind picked up along with Mystle’s canter.

“We’ll be heading to Southtown. We shall reconvene with my colleagues there, and thus shall your grand adventure begin, Luci!”

“I don’t know whether to be excited, or terrified.” Lucina said, truthfully.

“A little bit of both wouldn’t be misplaced,” Owain answered. “But you’ve nothing to fear! Soon they shall speak of your name in legend! Lucina, the princess who ventured into the unknown to shape her fate! Slayer of beasts, protector of the innocent! The kindest and most talented maiden in all the land! Ah, but you’ll need a brave, heroic name. I shall fabricate one for you! What about… Scourge of the Sea…? No, the Masked Menace! No, the Dread Pirate Rob-”

“That’s quite enough, my own name will do just fine, thank you very much! And who is this ‘they’ you speak of, Owain?” Lucina cut him off with a laugh.

“Why, everyone, of course! You’ll be more popular than your father, I guarantee it!”

“More popular than the Exalt of Ylisse? Hah, I highly doubt that. And besides, I’m not going with you for the fame or glory. You know that full well.”

“I do, but if destiny sees fit to hand you such, well, never scoff at fate’s plans, says I!”

“Hm, well, we’ll just have to see what happens.” Lucina said. But she couldn’t help the bubbling feeling of nervous excitement in her gut, and with the combination of adrenaline, cold night air, and the exhilarating pounding of Mystle’s hooves on the grassy fields they were cutting across she felt it was quite appropriate when she yelled in pure euphoria to the sky, and the infinite stars.

 

* * *

 

 Southtown, in all regards, is not a big place. Which is a miracle, considering it is one of Ylisse’s most renowned port towns. The buildings are few, and cramped together, the most popular being the pub, while the second most being the bustling marketplace. Nightfall did nothing to quiet the activity in the little town, in fact it only seemed to amplify it. The rowdy shouts and raucous laughs coming from the pub only got louder as the night drew on, and crowds of drunken folk were soon pouring out of the building to parade down the streets and spread the lively atmosphere. It was a curious little place, centered around a few, large canals where traveling merchants, navy ships and even a few, shadier customers could dock without concern. Bridges spanned the channels, lit with charming paper lanterns. Every now and then a splash and peals of laughter would fill the air, as some absolutely plastered individual would plunge into a canal by accident. All in all, it was someplace strange and completely alien to Lucina.

She and Owain pulled up short at a stable near the entrance of the town, where the two reluctantly said their goodbyes to Mystle, and Lucina followed her cousin as he led her into a dark and narrow alleyway between the stable and a grimy looking inn.

“Alright. Here’s the plan, Luci. First of all, are you sure you don’t wish me to return you to the Ylisstol? There won’t be any going back after this,” Owain’s voice had dropped its usual pomp and eccentricity, it was low and deadly serious. Lucina shook her head. She’d come this far, and wasn’t planning on backing out.

“Good. Now, the people we will be going with, my comrades, they’re… well, to put it lightly, they’re a rowdy bunch of unsatisfied youths. I won’t mince my words. We’re considered pirates by many good folk. Our good deeds go unnoticed, and our mistakes are blown out of proportion. We’re not quite so infamous that we’ve reached the ears of people like you father, but all the army and navy along the coasts have an eye out and a price on our heads.”

“But you aren’t pirates, are you? I mean, not really. I thought you told me-” Lucina butted in.

“What I told you was true. There _is_ a threat out there, and, as far as we know, we’re the only ones doing anything about it,” Owain whispered. “However, the fact remains that as much as I enjoy the company of my crew, I don’t know how far I can trust them. I know nothing about their backgrounds, and for now, I feel that the safest option is to withhold information on ourselves. Especially the fact that we’re-”

“Royalty.” Lucina finished.

“Exactly.” Owain nodded. Lucina glanced at his upper right arm, where his brand was. It was hidden underneath the sleeve of his yellow jacket.

“How will I hide mine?” Lucina asked, suddenly acutely aware of how the crest in her left eye stood out.

“Fear not! I have a solution for that!” Owain proclaimed, reaching for a small pouch attached to his belt. “Tadah!” He brandished forth something small and made of stiff cloth.

“An… eyepatch?!” Lucina said incredulously.

“A perfect solution, is it not?” Owain grinned.

“Are you serious?”

“Well, I see no other immediate fix, unless you wanted to go parading around in a mask! Which would be highly suspicious and strange, if you ask me. And this way, you’ll already look the part of a pirate! Now come along, and let me do the talking.” Owain said, and, taking Lucina’s hand, led her into the town proper.

 

* * *

 

 As she kept pace with Owain, Lucina examined the eyepatch he had handed her in the flickering light of the lanterns they passed. It was hard to tell in the dim lighting, but she concluded that it was a dark blue, matching her hair and outfit. With a sigh, she awkwardly fastened it over her left eye, immediately realizing that she’d be very vulnerable in a fight with it on. She wished there was a better alternative, one that didn’t leave her with a gaping blind spot, but Owain was right. A mask would be… extremely conspicuous, to put it lightly. As the two of them came closer to the few hulking shadows that Lucina knew to be ships, a small group of people standing by the water caught sight of them. One of them immediately began striding over, and Lucina stopped in her tracks.

“Don’t worry, these are my comrades,” Owain whispered to her. But as the figure stalking toward them revealed herself to be a girl with a business-like swagger and sour look on her face, Lucina couldn’t help but think that she didn’t look very comradely.

“Owain!” She snapped, long, red twintails bouncing angrily. “Where have you been?! We should’ve set sail hours ago!”

“I was collecting something!” Owain proclaimed.

“By ‘something’ do you mean that person next to you?” The girl sneered, running a scrutinizing eye over Lucina.

“I do indeed. How very observant of you, my dear Severa!” Owain smiled, pulling Lucina into plainer sight.

“This, my dear lady, is our newest crew member! She is ready to embark upon the perilous waves, risk life and limb to stand beside us and aid us in our quest to rid the sea of evil!” He raised one hand dramatically, gesticulating wildly towards the sky.

“Would you keep it down?” The girl, Severa, hissed. “We’re trying to be inconspicuous here! Do you _want_ the navy to get wind of our location? For Gods’ sakes, you’re the first mate, Owain!”

“Indeed I am! Which is why I’m telling you to take my young friend here and get her settled on the ship while I find the captain!” Owain shoved Lucina unceremoniously towards Severa, and turned on his heel, intending to make his way over to the huddled group of people still standing on the edge of the canal.

“Kjelle’s not going to like this. She’s not going to trust her,” Severa snapped, but Owain just smiled, and continued on his way. Severa turned back to Lucina and frowned.

“Fine, then. Follow me.” And she turned and headed towards the mass of docked boats bobbing gently in the canal.

“Is your entire crew over there?” Lucina asked, craning her neck to look at Owain’s receding back and the group of people standing beyond him.

“...Most of them. We’re not stupid. We have a watchman on board, obviously. _Gods_ , that idiot wasted so much of our time. We finished loading up with supplies two hours ago!” She turned to look at Lucina once more. “You better be worth it.” Lucina gulped. She was definitely more nervous than excited, now. And intimidated, and suddenly unsure of herself and her sword skills, even though she knew for a fact she was second to none with a blade, with the exception of her father.

Severa led her up to a medium-sized boat that sat low in the water. Four masts stood, dark against the stars and pointing accusingly at the sky. The white sails hung slack, fluttering gently in the night breeze. Lucina recognized it from the books she had read on the subject as a four masted Schooner. As the two of them stepped on board, the deck creaked ominously under Lucina’s feet, and the breeze picked up, singing through the rigging.

“Why hello there, Severa. You’re looking as lovely as ever. And who’s this beautiful lady you’ve got with you?” A voice said, and Lucina nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Shut up, Inigo.” Severa said, ignoring the young man Lucina had just noticed standing at the stern of the ship. Inigo’s smile never faltered, as he watched Severa lead her charge as far away from him as possible. _Must be the watchman_ , Lucina thought.

“How big is the crew?” Lucina wondered aloud, realizing that space was much tighter than she’d first imagined.

“Ten. Eleven, now, if we include you.” Severa responded, with palpable disdain. Lucina looked back at Inigo, and wondered if everyone on the crew was going to be unpleasant to talk to.

“What’s your name, anyway?” Severa turned around abruptly, and stared at Lucina.

“Um, Lucina.” She answered.

“Hmph,” Severa responded, and turned her back to her once more. “You’re lucky we have an extra hammock.” Giving Lucina barely any time to cast her gaze about the ship, Severa led her below deck, where the smell of salt and mildew was almost unbearable.

“Does it always smell like this?” Lucina asked, crinkling her nose.

“Well, duh. We’re on a _ship_ . Have you _ever_ sailed before?” Severa replied in a very condescending tone. Lucina decided that maybe she should keep her questions to herself. She found herself led down into the belly of the ship by her unenthusiastic guide. They went past the galley and storage area, the captain’s quarters and the smaller cabins meant for the rest of the crew. There was one more area, underneath them, Severa explained. The hold where the gunpowder and cannons were kept, and then, the bilge.

“You can have this room.” Severa said, haughtily, opening to the door to a cramped little room at the end of the row. There was barely enough space for two people to comfortably stand in it, and all it contained was a hammock and a flickering, kerosene lamp swinging gently from the ceiling. Lucina nodded her thanks, gripping Falchion tightly. She didn’t have anything with her aside from the clothes she was wearing, and the sword, which she didn’t feel comfortable not having at her side. On second thought, not bringing an extra set of clothes was probably a poor plan.

The scuffing of boots on the top deck, and muted murmurs alerted the two to the rest of the crew coming back on board. Severa swept out of the room, and Lucina, having nothing better to do, followed, hoping to find Owain.

“One more move like that, Owain, and you’ll lose your position, y’hear me?” A tough, broad-shouldered girl with short, dark hair was saying. Lucina assumed this must be Kjelle. “Oh, and is this her, then? The rookie?” Lucina realized the girl was looking at her, and she gave her a faltering smile. Kjelle didn’t return it.

“Indeed, this is she!” Owain strode over to Lucina. “She’s inexperienced in the ways of sailing, yet unparalleled with a blade. A heroic-” He yelped and dived out of the way as Kjelle suddenly lunged at Lucina with a lance. Without stopping to think, Lucina drew Falchion, parrying the strike, and running her blade down the length of the lance until it was tickling Kjelle’s throat.

“What’d you do that for?” Lucina gasped.

“Fine. She can stay for now! We don't have the time to discuss this further, but mark my words we'll be having a chat once we're out on open water.” Kjelle withdrew her lance, and Lucina slowly let Falchion drop until the tip of it was biting the wood of the deck. “Alright, now let’s get a move on! We’re losing darkness, I want this ship out of sight of Southtown before dawn!” The captain strode off, barking orders left and right as the crew scrambled to hoist the sails and make the ship seaworthy. Bewildered, Lucina gravitated towards Owain.

“What just happened?” She whispered to him.

“Kjelle respects the strong. And charismatic,” He winked at her. “Well done parrying that, though, Luci. Alright, I’ve still got work to do before I can turn in. Ah, the burdens of being an officer! But I don’t think we’ll be bothering with you until we’re clear from this port. You should go get some sleep while you can.” Lucina nodded, and sheathed Falchion. She made her way back below deck to her tiny room. She was more confused than ever, and the nerves were jangling in her stomach like butterflies as she heard the anchor being lifted from the water, but exhaustion quickly muted everything else. Unhooking Falchion from her side, she clutched it to her chest, and curled up in the hammock under the thin quilt provided. And soon, she was drifting off to sleep to the sounds of the waves sloshing against the ship.


	2. Ginger and Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two! Hope you enjoy!

Lucina awoke to sounds of creaking wood and splashing water. She tried rolling to the edge of her bed, then realized she wasn’t _in_ a bed when she fell out of her hammock and onto the floor. Groaning, she slowly sat up. The kerosene lamp, which she’d forgotten to dim the night before, had burned very low, but was still feebly flickering and casting shadows on the wall. There was no window in her tiny cabin, and Lucina couldn’t tell what time it was. It could be midnight or mid-morning, and she’d be none the wiser. Groggily, she pulled herself off the floor, eyes searching for Falchion. The blade was still in the hammock, tucked neatly in its sheath. Lucina picked it up and slid it back into her belt, patting it once she was sure it was secure. Standing up, she made for the door. Then ran face first into it as the ship rocked violently. The ship swayed again, and Lucina was sent staggering backwards. She all but threw herself at the door, and barely managed to slide it open before the ship rocked yet again and she tripped out into the passageway, slamming into the bulkhead opposite of her room. She tottered down the passage, bouncing off the walls until she reached the stairway to the hatch leading to the top deck. Stumbling outside, Lucina was immediately hit with a stiff, salty breeze, and the sight of bright, shattered light from the morning sun reflected in cresting waves. She clutched the ship’s railing, marveling at the swirling and uneven dark blue expanse stretching as far as the eye could see. Southtown was no longer in sight, and Lucina glanced down at the water, filled with wonder as she glimpsed sun rays shimmering underneath the surface. And then she was struck by a new, much more unpleasant feeling.

Leaning over the bulwark, Lucina heaved out whatever remained of her last meal at the castle.

“Haha! Looks like somebody hasn’t gotten their sealegs!” Someone giggled. Lucina slowly drew herself upright, and looked over at the person who’d spoken. It was a young girl, younger than Lucina, with her brown hair done up in two twintails, and a very bright smile.

“I’m Cynthia, by the way! And you’re Lucina, right? Nice t’meetcha!” Lucina nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to shake your hand,” Cynthia said, crinkling her nose. “Just thought I might introduce myself!”

“Yes. That’s very kind of you.” Lucina managed. Cynthia grinned.

“Well, I _had_ to get to know you better, I mean, not only did Owain bring you on, but my _sister_ got to meet the newbie _before_ me!? That’s so unlike her! Usually she’s all antisocial and _blah_ , y’know?”

“Your… sister?” Lucina said, trying to remember who she’d met the previous night. It was all a bit of a blur.

“Yeah, Severa! Owain said she gave you a tour of the ship and all!” Cynthia said.

“Oh! I didn’t even know Severa had a sister. Well, I mean, it’s not like I got to know her very well. In fact, I know nothing about her at all. I suppose that was a silly thing to say.” Lucina stumbled.

“Yeah, we’re pretty different people, not surprised that you didn’t realize! But anyways, you look like you’re having a pretty rough go on your first day at sea. This might help.” Cynthia offered Lucina something that looked like a root.

“What’s this?” Lucina asked, warily taking it from her.

“That’s ginger. For the nausea n’ stuff. Break off a small chunk and chew it, it should help!” Cynthia instructed, and Lucina did so, balking at the strong and cloying taste. It was surprisingly sharp, and made her eyes water. At Cynthia’s encouraging grin, she kept chewing, pulling a face of dissatisfaction.

“Yeah, doesn’t taste too good. I’d know. I used to get sick aaaaallll the time. Severa gave me a big ol’ hunk of ginger and I kept it with me at all times. I’m mostly over it now, but YEESH. Nobody told me how different a ship was from a pegasus!” The young girl continued.

“Pegasus?” Lucina questioned, curiosity piqued.

“Yeah! Have you ever ridden a pegasus? They’re pretty amazing. Nothing quite like whooshing through the sky on a pony with wings! Can’t quite get that same thrill on a ship, ‘specially since I couldn’t bring my poor girl with me,” Cynthia sighed wistfully, then brightened up once more. “But that doesn’t stop me from trying! You can get a pretty nice breeze from way up in the ratlines! If we’re going fast enough, you almost feel like you’re flying!”

“Up in the rigging?” Lucina cocked her head upwards. “Does anybody else climb up there with you?”

“Well, I mean, there are plenty of people that climb up to help when we’re unfurling the sails! Or furling them, for that matter. Your friend Owain is in charge of all of us. Nah, Inigo, Noire and I are usually the ones that work in the rigging the most. Oh, and I guess my sister. She’s up there even more than I am, but that’s only because she’s the lookout.” Cynthia rambled. Lucina squinted with her right eye, gazing upwards, and managed to catch a flash of red hair from way up near the top of of the mainmast.

“Cynthia, would you mind telling me something?” Lucina asked, neck still craned upwards.

“Mm? Yeah, go for it.” Cynthia placed her elbows on the bulwark and rested her chin in her hands.

“Last night, your captain attacked me on the spot before permitting me to stay aboard. Owain told me that she respects the strong. Does that go for everyone on board?”

“Oh, for sure! I might not look it, but I’m actually a really strong fighter!” Cynthia grinned wide. “I’m one of two magic users aboard, plus I’ve got my trusty lance to help deal out some justice! But yeah, everyone’s able to take care of themselves, which is kind of a must if you want to be in this crew. I mean, think about what we’re doing out here!” Lucina was about to ask exactly what that was, before a loud rumbling distracted her.

“Uh oh, looks like someone’s hungry,” Cynthia giggled. Lucina groaned, rubbing her stomach. The nausea was nearly gone, thanks to the ginger, and was being replaced with gnawing hunger. She was instantly reminded that the last meal she’d eaten she’d just puked into the ocean.

“You could say that.” Lucina replied, rubbing her stomach ruefully.

“Bad news is, you missed breakfast. Good news is, if you go down to the galley, I can guarantee Yarne’ll still throw something together for ya! Oh, but just a warning, he only does vegetarian. So I hope you aren’t all that attached to meat!” Cynthia said, cheerfully. Then, with a wave, she leapt up the ratlines with an almost manic energy. _At the very least I think I’ve made one new friend_. Lucina thought to herself. Then she turned toward the hatch and promptly tripped over a coiled rope.

 

* * *

 

The galley was most likely the biggest space in the entire ship. A steamy and low-ceilinged cabin, two long, wooden tables lay parallel to each other, taking up most of the floor space. The walls were lined with cupboards full of plates and cutlery and barrels of drink, a few lanterns jangled from their chains overhead, and pieces from a discarded board game rolled around the floor with each rock of the ship. It was the first cabin Lucina had seen with ports. Circular patches of sunlight shifted on the walls as the boat dipped and swayed through the troughs of the waves. Despite the sunlight and the size of the place, it still felt cramped and confined. Lucina could only imagine how hot the cabin must get with the entire crew in it. The most appealing aspect was the smell, wafting out from behind a counter that stretched from one end of the room to the other, and behind that an archway led into what Lucina assumed was the kitchen. She picked her way across the cabin, walking between the tables with her hands running along the wood to help keep her balance. She reached the counter, and stood there awkwardly, hands folded on the countertop. She could hear _somebody_ clattering around just past the archway, and she cleared her throat as loudly as she thought would be polite. A squeak and the crash of a pot falling to the deck had Lucina wondering if she’d been too loud.

“I-is somebody th-there?” A thin voice issued from the kitchen.

“Yes, sorry if I scared you!! I was told to come here and meet… Yarne, was it?” Lucina said, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever was behind the archway. Slowly, a person inched their way into the open, staring at Lucina with suspicious eyes. She was slightly taken aback by his appearance. He was long and lanky in ways that weren’t entirely human. Patches of dark fur covered him head to toe, and he was more sinewy and defined than anyone Lucina had ever met. But his most distinctive feature were his ears. Two, long rabbit ears, that hung down from his head to below his shoulders. His nose twitched apprehensively, and Lucina marveled at how he could look so slight and meek despite his large and wiry frame.

“And who are you? Some human come to take me prisoner? Murder me? Skin me alive? Well, you’d better get on with it.” He sighed loudly, looking almost resigned.

“Wait, what? No, of course not! I’m Lucina, the newest… crew member, I suppose. Cynthia told me to find you because I seem to have missed breakfast, and was wondering if it was possible to still get a bite to eat,” Lucina said. “You _are_ Yarne, aren’t you?”

“Oh,” He looked confused, and still wary. “Yes. I am. I’m… the cook. You’re sure you’re not going to try and eat me?”

“Positive.” Lucina assured him. Yarne seemed satisfied, and his shoulders loosened.

“Well, in that case, what would you like? Eggs? Fruit? Bread? I should tell you, I only do vegetarian.”

“Eggs sound lovely!” She said, her stomach growling in anticipation. He nodded, and disappeared. Soon the smell of frying eggs hovered in the air, and Lucina took a seat at one of the long tables, awkwardly perching on the edge of a bench. It didn’t feel like the kind place to be eating alone. A few minutes later, Yarne returned with a plate of fried eggs and a soft _“here you are”_ before vanishing once more. She dug in with little regard for proper manners, but paused as she heard someone marching down the passageway and speaking in a loud, and familiarly dramatic voice.

“Good comrade of mine, whither has’t thou wandered off to? Lucina? Our most gracious captain requests your presence at- oh, do I smell eggs?” Owain poked his head around the door to the galley, spied Lucina, and, more importantly, spied her plate, and strode over as quickly as he could while trying very hard to seem casual.

“Good day, my most valiant companion! Most youthful lady of stunning disposition and vigor! Your skill is unparalleled, as are your looks, and your virtue and kindness know no bounds!” He spewed, gesticulating madly. Lucina took pity on him and pushed her plate in his direction.

“You can have some if you’d like, Owain.” She giggled.

“Thank you, most gracious and Exalted cousin of mine! The Fates shall look upon you with good faith and fortune! This sustenance shall sustain my sword hand’s lust for blood and justice!” He bowed deeply, before plucking an egg off the plate with his bare hands, juggling it and shoving it into his mouth. “Ooh, s’hot!”

“You might want to be careful with your word choice, Owain. Specifically, ‘Exalted.’” Lucina chided, grinning at his antics.

“Good point, m’lady! My lips are sealed from now on, and I shall endeavour to keep a tighter reign on my words!”

“Right. Now, what was that about the captain?” She asked playfully. Owain nearly choked.

“Ah! Indeed, the captain requires your presence immediately! She wishes to discuss having you aboard in more depth.” He said, standing quickly, and swaying dangerously as the ship hit a particularly deep trough. Impressively, he managed to keep his balance, and offered Lucina his hand with a flourish. She took it, and he led her out of the galley and back through the ship’s passageways towards the captain’s cabin.

The captain’s quarters were stunning, and Lucina was instantly reminded of how terrible her own lodgings were in comparison. If the galley was the biggest room, Kjelle’s office was a close competitor. On the contrary, it felt even less cramped despite being smaller. The bulkheads were plastered with maps and charts of the stars and seas, and there were a generous amount of ports lining the back wall that offered plenty of natural light. A hammock hung in the corner, tucked out of the way in favor of the large desk in the center of the room, and the impressive set of polished armor and collection of lances that took up nearly half the cabin. Kjelle herself was seated in a large, plush seat behind the desk. She looked a little uncomfortable, as if she’d been waiting there for a while, specifically to intimidate them. From what little she knew of the captain, Lucina didn’t think that was out of character in the slightest.

“There you are,” Kjelle said, straightening her back. “Please, take a seat.” She gestured to two, rickety looking wooden chairs. _Definitely an intimidation tactic_. Lucina decided, before perching in one. Owain took the other, flashing Kjelle one of his signature smiles. She scowled back at him and folded her hands on the top of her desk, levelling her gaze at Lucina.

“So. I have a few questions for you,” She said, and Lucina gulped. “I know we didn’t have an in-depth discussion about your enlistment on this ship last night-”

“A bit of an understatement there, my fearless and formidable captain! For in most cases, I do not believe an attempted impaling counts as a discussion.” Owain interrupted, and Kjelle shot him a death glare.

“Owain, so help me, you will be swabbing the deck for a week if you don’t keep your trap shut,” Kjelle turned back to Lucina and cleared her throat. “As I was saying, why is it that you want to be a part of my crew? And how do you know that big idiot?” She jerked her head towards Owain.

“Oh! Well, I… uh, I…” Lucina stumbled, glancing at Owain for help.

“She is but a poor farmhand who has toiled day and night in hopes of a promising future and the scent of adventure! She found her chance when I happened upon her, poor soul, and offered a grand horizon of opportunity on the sea!” Owain leapt from his chair, knocking it over. Lucina nodded along to his narrative. Kjelle looked unimpressed.

“Yes! I, uh, I wanted to get a taste of what life was like… off of the… farm.” Lucina added.

“Mm. I see,” Kjelle said. “Care to explain how a farm hand had enough skill with a blade to parry my strike last night?”

“I was… trained, by my… grandfather. Who was a knight in the war.” Lucina said, sweating. She didn’t know whether to be grateful that Owain was with her or not.

“Yes, she explained much to me on our journey to Southtown,” He chimed in. “Her grandfather was gravely wounded on the battlefield, and cruel fate sentenced him to a life of farming where he settled down and raised a family.”

“How did you lose your eye?” The captain asked, cooly.

“Ah,” Lucina’s hand flew to her left eye, covered by the eyepatch Owain had given her last night. “That was, um… quite an embarrassing incident with a pitchfork. When I was twelve.” She fabricated.

“Oh, that sounds like an interesting tale.” Kjelle leaned forward.

“A tragic tale of- oof!” Owain began, but Lucina elbowed him in the ribs.

“Not much to it. I was a very clumsy child.” Lucina shrugged. Owain nodded vigorously. Kjelle leaned back once more, chair creaking.

“Well I’ve seen for myself that you’re prepared for a fight. You were able to parry my blow without getting a scratch on you, which is enough to demonstrate your skill to me. But let me ask you one more thing. Are you prepared to fight for our cause? To fight nightmares face to face in order to protect the innocent and unaware, and spend every waking moment wondering if you’ll be alive to see the next sunset? To flee the navy and be recognized only as scourges of the sea? It’s a thankless job. And it’s as hard as it gets. Are you truly willing to join us?” She asked, and Lucina’s eye flitted to Owain. He had neglected to mention the bit about wondering if she’d be alive to see the next sunset.

“I... of course. Yes. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.” She nodded resolutely, and Kjelle smiled.

“Very well. Then I’d like to officially welcome you aboard the ship, _Naga’s Messenger_. I’ll be placing you under Laurent’s jurisdiction for now, he’ll find a spot for you and get someone to show you the ropes. Owain can you take you to him. I look forward to seeing your full strength sometime soon.” Kjelle stood and reached for Lucina’s hand, an almost hungry glint in her eyes. Lucina took it, and gave her a firm handshake. Kjelle’s grip was very tight. Then, she and Owain left the cabin, shut the door, and immediately broke into nervous fits of giggles.

“D-did you _see_ her face at the farmhand story?”

“A _pitchfork_?! Luci, even I wouldn’t have gone for that!”

“I… _hahahaha_! I have no idea where that came from, I-”

“That was like… that was like that one time… do you remember when your father caught us stealing that enormous cake?” Owain hooted with laughter. “I thought he’d skin me alive for sure! It was only your acting that got us out of it, I’m positive!”

“And your silver tongue,” Lucina teased, regaining her composure. “But come now, aren’t you supposed to introduce me to Laurent?”

“Correct. Let us make haste!” Owain said, looking at Lucina. They both burst into laughter once more. _Well_ , Lucina thought to herself, _At least there are some things that still feel like home_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three coming next Sunday! Let me know what you think so far with a comment, they make my day!


	3. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are... a little bit late, sorry about that! But I only missed Sunday by half an hour, my time. Enjoy, I think this will be the last slow-paces chapter, we're about to really get into the meat of it all!

They found Laurent on the top deck at the stern, near the ship’s wheel. He was standing next to an intense young man with a shock of slicked back red hair and a black mask over his eyes who was manning the wheel. Two others stood nearby, a slight young girl with braided green hair and pointed ears, and the guy from the night before, Inigo.

“I thought you said a mask would make me stand out, but you’ve already got a crew member wearing one. ” Lucina whispered furiously to Owain, staring at the helmsman.

“Gerome’s a special case!” Owain replied, and Lucina crossed her arms, giving him the best death glare she could manage with only her right eye. As they approached, the one called Gerome perked up, and glanced in their direction. Laurent followed his line of sight.

“Oh, you must be the newest member. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Laurent said in a clipped manner, adjusting his glasses and stepping forward to offer Lucina his hand. “No doubt Kjelle sent you to me to evaluate which position would best suit you.”

“Oh, um, I suppose she did. It’s nice to meet you as well.” Lucina replied, taking the proffered hand. Gerome said nothing, but Lucina could tell he was staring her down from behind his mask. Laurent then stood back, looking her over. Lucina felt herself shiver a little under his discerning gaze.

“Owain, you know her best. What can you tell me of her skills?” Laurent asked, rubbing his chin in thought. He seemed determined to hit every stereotype for the classic intellectual.

“Why, she is peerless when it comes to the blade! Unmatched in stamina and strength! Smiled upon by the fates and good fortune when it comes to battle sense! My sword hand hungers with a blazing admiration for her skill on the battlefield, though I fear she is quite lacking in any knowledge of the sea or sailing whatsoever.” Owain said, patting Lucina on the back. She bit her lip and looked at the deck. As much as she loved Owain, his praise was always way over the top.

“Hm. Well I shall definitely be putting that strength of yours to good use. And I do hope that you rely solely on your actual skill as opposed to… _good fortune_ ,” Laurent shot a glance at Owain. “For now, as you are new to sailing, I’ll simply assign you to helping with the sails and cleaning the decks-”

“Swab! It’s called swabbing the decks, Laurent!” Inigo butted in. Laurent turned to glare at him.

“Don’t be insufferable, Inigo.” Gerome grunted. Inigo looked appropriately cowed, and Laurent cleared his throat.

“As I was saying; for now I’ll let Nah show you the ropes. Both literally and figuratively, I suppose.” Laurent chuckled at his own joke. Gerome smiled encouragingly. Owain coughed awkwardly, and nobody else made a sound.

“Alright, sounds good. I’ll take young Lucina here. Catch you later, boys.” The girl with the green braids said, stepping up to sweep a grateful Lucina away. Lucina gave Nah a once-over. She wasn’t sure where she got off calling her ‘young,’ as Nah looked much younger than herself, but decided against pointing that out. Lucina kept pace with Nah as the two walked amidships, pleased to find that she was able to keep her balance despite the swaying motion of the ship. A huge improvement from when she woke up.

“To put it bluntly, you’re the fresh meat.” Nah suddenly turned to face Lucina.

“I beg your pardon?” Lucina said, taking a step backwards at Nah’s alarming turn of phrase.

“Well, you’re new and don’t know what you’re doing. Naturally, everyone’s going to take advantage of that. They’ll want to ‘break you in,’ and all that bolonge. I mean, I suppose there’s some sense to it. The more work they have you do, the faster you get the hang of it, and all that. But I just thought I should warn you, is all. You seem like a good kid.” Nah shrugged, and gave Lucina a small smile.

“Um, if you don’t mind me saying… you’ve used the word ‘kid’ and ‘young’ to describe me, despite the fact that I must be older than you-”

“First rule aboard _Naga’s Messenger_ ,” Nah interrupted. “Never judge by appearances. We don’t make assumptions about our shipmates, and we don’t make the mistake of gauging one’s abilities, or age, _by_ appearance. In my case, I’m a manakete.”

“A member of the dragon race?” Lucina asked, flabbergasted.

“Glad you know of us. Yes, a member of the dragon race. I’m considered barely an infant in manakete years, but… well, when compared with humans, I’ve got many more years in my lifespan than you do.” Nah answered.

“Oh, I see.” Lucina said, a bit at a loss for words.

“Sorry. I can stop calling you that, if you’d rather. Not the best course of action if it makes an equal feel inferior.” Nah mused, rubbing her chin.

“Ah, it’s quite alright! After all, I am... what did you call me? The ‘fresh meat?’” Lucina said, and Nah cracked a grin.

“That’s right! Okay then, let’s start teaching you about this boat,” Nah flexed her nimble fingers, and pointed skyward. “First of all, the weather is very important when it comes to sailing the high seas. More wind means more speed, but it can also create dangerous conditions, as it does on land. But bad weather is much more treacherous while on a ship.” As she spoke the ship made a sharp turn that sent Lucina stumbling. The huge white sails suddenly fluttered and went limp as they lost the breeze, before being hit with the wind again from the opposite direction. They stiffened and billowed outwards, straining against the ropes that held them tight to the mast. As they did so, the large spars that held the foot of the sails came swinging around violently overhead, and Lucina shrieked and ducked her head.

“Don’t worry, the booms are too far overhead to hit you! I’d just be careful about standing on the railings if I were you.” Nah reassured her.

“Why did those beams move like that?” Lucina asked, fear dulled and curiosity whetted.

“The booms are attached to the sails. They have to remain able to swing about to give the sails some leeway. If the sails were totally lashed to the mast, one strong gust of wind could flip the ship, as it were, and put us all in the drink,” Nah explained. “Right now, we’re sailing against the wind. It’d be better to change direction and go elsewhere, but we’re still trying to put as much distance between us and Southtown as possible, so Gerome’s using a method called tacking.” The ship turned sharply again, and Lucina instinctively ducked as the booms swung around once more.

“Tacking? I assume it has something to do with all of the turning?” She asked Nah, who nodded.

“Yeah. We obviously can’t sail straight through the wind, because it would catch our sails and push us backward. But we _can_ go through sideways. Basically, if we’re cutting across the direction the wind is flowing, then we can still catch enough wind in the sails to push us forward. And to keep on track, we have to keep cutting back through the wind so we’re still heading in the direction we want to go.” Nah said matter-of-factly.

“Ah, so we’re essentially zig-zagging?” Lucina said.

“Exactly!” Nah smiled wide.

“You seem very knowledgeable about all this.” Lucina gestured to the sails.

“Eh, I suppose. It’s really all essential sailing know-how that you pick up while onboard.” Nah scuffed her foot on the deck. Lucina thought she looked rather pleased at the compliment.

“Anyways, I can’t exactly teach you how to furl the sails at the moment, but I’ll show you how to do that next time we make land. Kjelle will also probably want you to scrub the decks and help belowdecks when we’ve got to bail out water and all that. Oh! Nearly forgot the most important thing! How’s your knotwork?”

“It’s alright, but I doubt it’s up for the task of working on a ship.” Lucina said, honestly. She’d learned knotwork from her father. He was adamant about teaching her in every aspect of warfare, even though he told her many times that he hoped she’d never need to use what he taught her. Among his teachings, Lucina had picked up a few, simple knots in which to quickly set up tents and shelters. But judging by the complicated knots that Owain could produce effortlessly, she had a long way to go.

“Well you don’t want to learn knots from me. I’d suggest you ask Severa, she’s the best at it. Though if you haven’t already figured it out, she can be… prickly.”

“I learned that last night.” Lucina sighed, casting her gaze upwards to the crow’s nest, and trying to catch a glimpse of Severa’s red hair.

“C’mon, let’s get you scaling the rigging! I wanna show you something!” Nah said playfully, grabbing Lucina’s hand. Surprised, Lucina complied, following her eager companion as she ran aft and scrambled up the ratlines on the foremast. She followed Nah up towards the top of the mast, carefully finding and testing sturdy footholds before hauling herself upwards. She’d never been particularly fond of heights, and it didn’t help now that her vision was impaired due to the eyepatch.

“Alright, now take a look out at the sea! Bet you’ve never had a view like this before!” Nah said, excitedly. Cautiously, Lucina moved her gaze from her feet up and out to the ocean. She gasped at the sight. In even his wildest stories, Owain had never overstated the beauty of the sea. The sight was even better from her position in the rigging, and as Lucina stared out at the vast, watery expanse, she could suddenly appreciate why Cynthia was so adamant about being up high. In every direction, the horizon was sunk far lower than Lucina had ever seen. The blue line of the sky blurred as it hit that of the sea, so that she could barely tell where ocean ended and sky began. The water was rough, patchy, swirling and cresting and whispering to itself. The dark blue gave way to glimmering white where the sun had marked it, a glowing point of heat in an otherwise cloudless sky. The breeze was stiff, whistling in her ears and sending a shiver of exhilaration through Lucina’s spine. As she gazed out upon the broken surface, she felt herself inexplicably drawn to it. She yearned to be able to live this life in full, sailing over the endless deeps, discovering every secret they had to hold…

“Wow.” She gasped, her mouth hanging open.

“You should see it at night.”  Nah said, grinning from ear to ear at Lucina’s expression. Lucina was suddenly swept out of her reverie as her eyes dropped from the splendid vista back to the ship. She had spied something hanging out from under the bow, a lump of wood that she presumed must have some shape or meaning to it.

“What’s that?” She questioned.

“Oh, that’d be our figurehead,” Nah said, following her gaze. “It’s a likeness of the goddess, Naga.”

“Naga? Right, this ship is called _Naga’s Messenger_. That makes sense. But, if I may ask, why all the religious ties?” Lucina asked, squinting at the figurehead and making out the details of a beautiful woman carved into the wood.

“Well… if nobody else will protect Ylisse in her place, we thought the name and figurehead fitting,” Nah shrugged. “I guess it sounds a little pretentious when you put it that way, though.”

“Kjelle mentioned something about protecting the innocent, but nobody has yet told me what we’re protecting… them from… oooh…” Lucina trailed off, clapping a hand over her mouth as a second bout of nausea hit her without warning.

“Uh oh. Seasickness?” Nah inquired, cocking her head. Lucina nodded, clenching her eyes shut. All of a sudden heights seemed like a terrible plan.

“Let’s get you down from here. I’ll take you to see Noire. She does all sortsa weird experiments and stuff, so I’ll ask if she’s got something up her sleeve that takes care of nausea in a more permanent way.” Nah said, beginning to carefully guide Lucina down the ratlines. Lucina didn’t like how she used the words ‘weird’ and ‘experiments’ in the same sentence.

 

* * *

 

Nah led her below deck, back towards the galley where Lucina had gotten her breakfast. Lucina felt even worse in the close confines of the passageways, and clapped a hand over her mouth, praying that Noire would have some sort of trick up her sleeve. She staggered after Nah, ears pounding. Nah ushered her through the galley door and sat her down at one of the benches. Lucina slumped over the table, taking deep breaths and concentrating on keeping her breakfast down.

“Hey, Noire! You in there? Leave your boyfriend alone for a sec and come out here!” Nah yelled towards the kitchen. There were two squeaks, and more crashing of pots. Lucina had a vivid flash of deja vú from earlier that morning.

“Yes, uh… h-hello, Nah…” A voice Lucina recognized as Yarne’s said.

“BLOOD AND THUNDER, HOW DARE YOU PUNY MORTALS STARTLE US LIKE THAT!?” A second voice shouted, and Lucina jumped, whipping her head up to see who had spoken, and immediately regretted it with the following wave of overwhelming sickness.

“The newbie is seasick.” Nah said, unfazed.

“ Ah, uh, o-oh dear. S-sorry…” The second person said, voice immediately lapsing into something small and meek. “I’ll see what I can do, h-hang on just a second…” Lucina heard the sound of light footsteps, then the creak of a cabinet door and the sounds of someone rummaging around before they approached her and carefully put a hand on her shoulder.

“Um, here, could you lift your head up and drink this for me?” It was the second voice again, and Lucina complied, blearily cracking open her eye and gulping down whatever was in the proffered flask. Surprisingly, it tasted wonderfully refreshing. A lightly sweetened and watery kind of syrup reminiscent of maple sap. Almost immediately, Lucina’s stomach began to settle, and the bile in the back of her throat went down. She opened her eye fully, astonished at the quick-acting effect of the drink, and was finally able to fully take in the girl standing in front of her. She was small and wispy, timid, from her body language, and nervously twisting a strand of her dark brown hair in her fingers as her eyes flitted over Lucina.

“How did you do that?” Lucina asked in amazement, cautiously rising to her feet. It seemed the nausea had completely melted away.

“Oh… well, y’know, just some experiments and a little bit of magic… It’s a simple elixir, really.” The girl said. Looking away from Lucina.

“This is Noire. She’s very talented with her magic and weird experiment thingies.” Nah said, patting Noire on the back. Noire flinched and smiled nervously.

“Well, thank you kindly, Noire, for patching me up,” Lucina smiled and bowed. “I feel good as new!”

“M-my pleasure…” Noire mumbled, still not meeting Lucina’s eye. Yarne slipped a comforting hand on Noire’s shoulder.

“She’s a bit on the shy side,” Nah teased, and Noire covered her face with a squeak, blushing furiously.

“Oh! Well in that case, I’ll uh, I’ll take my leave, shall I?” Lucina said, backing towards the door.

“W-wait a second, you didn’t tell me your name.” Noire said, making a visible effort to meet Lucina’s eyes.

“My apologies! My name is Lucina.” Lucina said.

“Well, I look forward to getting to know you better, Lucina,” Noire said, giving her a small curtsy. “Maybe next time I can make you a cake instead of an elixir?”

“That’d be lovely! But there’s no need for such a thing, really.” Lucina exclaimed.

“Noire loves to bake, she’ll take any chance she can get to cook something up. She’s much better with desserts than I am.” Yarne said. He seemed remarkably less shy than when Lucina had seen him that morning, and she had to wonder if Noire’s presence was the cause.

“In that case, I’ll happily accept!” Lucina smiled, and Noire returned it.

“And… if you ever want me to take a look at your eye, I might be able to do something about it…” Noire mumbled. Lucina flushed bright red.

“Oh, ah, um, I-I better be going now… I have to go see- er, find, uh, Severa. Yes, I need to… knots… uh, goodbye! And thank you again!” She stumbled over her words, and rushed from the galley, slamming the door behind her.

“...Touchy subject, I guess?” Nah shrugged.

 

* * *

 

It was late evening by the time Lucina actually made her way towards the crow’s nest. As soon as she’d left the galley, she’d been pulled aside by Inigo, who’d asked her to clean, er, ‘swab,’ a section of the deck (which didn’t seem to be in need of a swabbing at all) and had taken the opportunity to hit her with every pickup line in the book and more. After escaping him on the pretense of needing to speak with Owain, Laurent had asked her to scrub the bilges (which were _definitely_ in need of a swabbing), and by the time she was done with that the sky was already being stained red with the setting sun. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect. She hadn’t seen nor talked to Severa since the night prior, which was a miracle considering the size of the ship, but as Nah had said, Severa was quite… prickly. And Lucina wasn’t sure how she’d take to her climbing up into her territory, especially as they still didn’t know a thing about each other. In many ways, Severa was the most intriguing crew member Lucina had met thus far, and for whatever reason, she felt drawn to her. Besides, she had a viable excuse for talking to her. Nah had told her to ask Severa for help, anyway, it wasn’t like she was trying to talk to her just for the sake of talking. Definitely not. Gulping, Lucina gripped the ratlines tightly and began to scale them. The sky wasn’t the only thing dyed a different color. From her new vantage point the ocean looked ablaze, stained with bright yellow and orange streaks that wavered and shimmered in the waves that had calmed with the dropping of the breeze.

“What do you want?” The sharp voice cut through Lucina’s thoughts, and she gasped, nearly losing her grip on the ropes. Severa was glaring at her from her position in the crow’s nest. It looked nothing like what Lucina had expected, it didn’t resemble the large basket-like contraptions complete with railings that she had seen in her mother’s books on ships. It was simply a few planks nailed to the top of the mast to make a surface on which two people might be able to sit. Severa was lounging, back against the mast and feet dangling over the edge.

“Oh, I was, uh, I was…” Lucina stammered.

“Spit it out, gawds!” Severa snapped.

“Well… Nah said you might be able to teach me a thing or two about tying knots. I don’t know all that much when it comes to-”

“Knots, huh?” Severa gave Lucina a long, hard look. “Well I suppose I’ve got to, don’t I? Seeing as I’m the only one on the ship that knows how to tie them _properly_.”

“So you will?” Lucina said joyfully.

“If you insist,” Severa rolled her eyes. “Where’s the rope, then?”

“Rope..?” Lucina said.

“ _Gawds_ , you came up here to learn to tie knots and didn’t bring a piece of rope?! Ugh, what a _fool_ …” Severa snorted.

“I’m sorry, I… it must have slipped my mind. I’ll go back and get some.” Lucina apologized, taking a step back down the ratlines.

“Don’t bother. Lucky for you I’ve got a piece any… way…” Severa trailed off, squinting at the horizon.

“Is something wrong?” Lucina asked in concern.

“Do you know why we’re here?” Severa said, mouth a hard line as she rose to her feet, a steadying hand gripping the mast as the other shaded her eyes.

“It’s been alluded to, but no one’s told me outright what we’re _doing_ , exactly,” Lucina admitted. “I only know that we’re here to fight something. Or someone.”

“Yes. And you’re about to find out what that _something_ is.” Severa growled, pointing to the water where, not a league off, an ominous rippling in the water was quickly making its way towards the ship.

“I sure hope your skills are the real deal, newbie, because you’re in for a fight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who are reading, with any luck we'll have chapter four next Sunday, and the pace will be picking up! Let me know what your thoughts are with a comment, they make my day!!


	4. Conflict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness. Well, uh, sorry 'bout the wait. I'm in the middle of balancing classes along with applying to things, and there's quite a bit on my plate. Yeah. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter despite its tardiness!

Lucina clambered down from the crow’s nest as quickly as she dared. The light was fading fast, and the oncoming darkness was far from ideal for a fight. Not only that, but the darker the sky got, the worse Lucina’s depth perception became. Severa had sent her down the ratlines after aggressively ringing the warning bell on the top of the mast, and had pulled out a bow and quiver of arrows from gods knew where. Lucina hoped that Severa could see better than her in the dim light. Shooting her own crewmembers on accident wouldn’t exactly be helpful. The crew was gathering on deck, Kjelle shouting orders and clanking about in the enormous suit of armor Lucina had seen on the floor of her quarters. Owain was standing to attention, face serious and hand gripping the hilt of his sword. Nah, Inigo, Yarne and Cynthia were standing nearby, and Noire brushed her shoulder against Lucina’s as she strode past her towards the mast, a bow slung over her shoulders.

“There you are, newbie,” Kjelle growled. “Come stand over here.” She gestured to a space between Owain and Cynthia, and Lucina slipped into line. Cynthia was running her hands over the cover of a thick and violently yellow tome, a look of giddy excitement on her face.

“What’s happening?” She whispered to Owain and Cynthia.

“Well, my dear friend, you’re about to see what exactly we’re dealing with here.” Owain said, grimly.

“Yarne! Are the ports below deck locked shut?” Kjelle barked. Yarne nodded stiffly, whiskers quivering and eyes wide. “Good. Alright, you know your positions. Get to it, and don’t let any of them onboard, got it?” The crew scrambled to follow orders, Gerome and Laurent going aft to the rudder, Cynthia breaking off to join Inigo amidships on the port side, and Nah going starboard. Owain made to the starboard side as well, and Lucina followed him. Kjelle alone clanked her way to the bow in her giant suit of armor. Glancing up to the masts, Lucina barely made out the figures of Noire and Severa against the sky. Both had drawn their bows, and had an arrow notched on the string. The ship went silent, every member of the crew holding their breath... waiting. The only sounds to be heard were small waves slapping the sides of the ship, and the gentle clang of the warning bell as the clapper grazed the lip with each sway of the boat. Lucina glanced over the bulwark, into the swirling depths. The water looked pitch black, no longer inviting and pulling at her sense of adventure. Instead, it seemed treacherous, a mire of foreboding and danger.

“Owain, please tell me what it is we’re expecting to fight,” Lucina whispered. “You’ve dodged the question ever since you convinced me to come.”

“That’s because you wouldn’t have believed me without seeing it for yourself.” He murmured back. Lucina gulped. That was not a reassuring answer.

“Heeeeeere they come!” Cynthia shrieked, delighted.

“Hold steady, long ranged fighters be ready to strike first!” Kjelle shouted from the bow. Lucina gripped Falchion tightly as the black surface of the water began to roil. Her grip on Falchion faltered and her eyes went wide as a hand slowly rose from the water. It was followed by a second hand, then a head and a body. A corpse was standing on the surface of the water, staring at Lucina with eerie, glowing red eyes.

The teeth were rotting from its head, gray flesh rent apart and hanging loose off the its frame, clammy and bloodless. Algae and seaweed draped over the molding rags that must have once served as clothes, and a sailor’s cap was still perched on its head.

Lucina felt her heart seize, a deep-seated instinct telling her to run. The corpse raised its hand, bloated and gnarled fingers wrapped around the hilt of a sword, and took a shuddering step towards the ship, ripples spreading from where its feet touched the water, unfazed by the waves breaking against its body. It opened its mouth, and a fog of dark purple mist obscured its face as it let out an unearthly shriek and charged forward. With a sudden _twang,_ an arrow flew past Lucina, striking the corpse between the eyes. With a moan, it fell to its knees, the light in its eyes fading as it sank below the surface of the water. She whipped around to see Noire nocking back a second arrow from her perch in the rigging.

“Owain, what the _hell_ is that!?” She yelled, turning back to face her cousin.

“No time to explain, here come the rest!” He shouted back, flexing his wrist. Nah let out a whoop, jumping up onto the bulwark.

“Make sure to get any that slip by me!” She said, before diving off the side of the ship. Before Lucina could react, there was a bright flash of green light, and a huge, pink dragon rose into the sky. She had no time to marvel at Nah’s transformation, however. An entire crew of corpses had risen from the deep, and had surrounded the ship. Lucina heard the yells and whoops of her crewmates as adrenaline coursed through them, and raised Falchion, gripping it tightly with both hands. Nah swooped through the air, raining concentrated balls of green fire down on the corpses. They paid her no heed, continuing to splash towards Lucina and Owain. Those that were hit were engulfed in Nah’s flames, immediately disintegrating and sinking into the waves, flames hissing as they met water. More and more continued to crawl from the sea, like worms from rotten woodwork. All of a sudden, Lucina’s attention was grabbed by a slimy, decaying hand grasped the bulwark of the ship by her feet. A head slowly rose up over the edge, its red eyes locking onto Lucina, the purple mist from its mouth wreathing its rotting head. One had made it to the ship. Before she could react, there was a flash and Owain’s sword had run it through. It shrieked and fell.

“You’ve got to be quicker than that, if you want to beat my sword hand, Luci!” Owain winked, and Lucina gave him a trembling smile in return. This was unlike any battle she’d ever been in.

The last rays of sun winked out over the horizon. An inky blackness began to seep into the dark blue of the sky, and soon Lucina could barely make out Owain beside her. She looked out to sea. All she could see were the flashes of green fire from Nah, and the glowing red eyes of the corpses trudging towards her. Another head peeked over the side, and Lucina jumped, lashing out on instinct. Falchion cleaved its head in two, and it let go of the ship’s rails, falling backwards with a gurgling moan. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she could feel cold sweat dripping down her back.

“It’s too dark, we can’t risk trying to shoot anything!” Severa’s voice called out. She sounded irritated.

“LAURENT!” Kjelle yelled. Her voice sounded strained. Lucina glanced to the bow of the ship, but it was too dark for her to see Kjelle. She looked towards the stern, where Laurent and Gerome were, and barely made out Laurent’s shadow, reaching for the sky, before a brilliant, orange flame came spurting from his hand, circling upwards to settle over the ship like a brightly shining cloud. Immediately, the deck was illuminated. Lucina took in the sight of Gerome hacking away with his axe at one of the monsters that had crawled up onto the ship, Inigo thrusting his sword down one of their throats, Cynthia cackling maniacally as a crackling arc of lightning shot through the chests of five at once, and Kjelle, alone at the bow, lying on the deck with one on top of her. Without stopping to think, Lucina leapt into action. She sprinted towards the bow, leaping over a coil of rope and ducking under a mainstay. Suddenly, the ship lurched sideways. Losing her balance, Lucina toppled past Kjelle and crashed into a bulwark, barely managing to keep her grip on Falchion.

“They’re pushing the ship!” Noire cried out, voice thin and wavering. Lucina got back to her feet. The corpse was fumbling with the knife gripped in its clumsy fingers, breathing purple smoke into Kjelle’s face, other hand wrapped around her neck. Lucina saw two more pulling themselves up over the railing. Without hesitation, Lucina launched herself towards the one straddling Kjelle, a well-placed blow taking off its head. She turned towards the other two, her training kicking in as she ducked below their clumsy hands, striking twice from below in quick succession. They tipped over the edge, and out of sight.

“Here,” Lucina said, offering Kjelle a hand. Kjelle took it, an unreadable expression on her face. Suddenly, the look on her face hardened.

“Look out!” She said, pulling Lucina away from the bulwark. The corpse that Lucina thought she had beheaded had pulled itself to its feet once more, rusty knife raised. Lucina’s vision had hampered her swing, she’d misjudged and the monster’s head was still just barely attached, hanging off its neck at a grotesque angle, red eyes boring into Lucina’s back. Before either of them could react, an arrow sprouted from its chest, and it collapsed.

“I can see again, thanks.” Severa scoffed from the crow’s nest.

“Good shot, Sev,” Kjelle said, and Severa turned away with a huff. “Now, you said they’re rocking the boat?” Kjelle clanked over to the edge, and Lucina followed her. Glancing over the bulwark, the two saw a line of the dead, half submerged and hidden beneath the curve of the ship, hands gripping the sides and pushing in a synchronized effort that tilted the boat to a concerning degree, sending everyone aboard reeling off balance.

“What the hell!?” Kjelle yelled, gripping the railing tightly to avoid stumbling.

“What do we do?” Lucina gasped, clutching the railing as well.

“Someone get below deck, open the ports and fight ‘em off from there!” Kjelle ordered. Cynthia leapt into action, running towards the stairs.

“Inigo, Lucina, go with her,” Kjelle said, roughly grabbing Lucina’s shoulder and shoving her towards the hatch as well. Lucina hurried after the other two, tripping down the steps that lead to the bowels of the ship. Cynthia ran in front, a small ball of flame dancing around her fingers and lighting the pitch-black passageways. There hadn’t been time to light the lamps before the attack. To Lucina, the walls of the passages seemed tight, as if they were closing in on her. Her back and neck were drenched with sweat, she could feel it trickling down her face, across the bridge of her nose and under her eyepatch, that was becoming itchy and uncomfortable. She wished she could take the damn thing off, another slip like the one with the corpse that attacked Kjelle, and somebody could get seriously injured. The wooden floorboards creaked as the three of them skidded into the hold, Cynthia immediately flicking the small fireball and leaving it to float freely in the air, lighting the hold enough for them to see what they were doing.

“They’re all on the starboard side!” Cynthia said, as they spread themselves out.

“Only open a few, we don’t want to be defending more than we can handle!” Inigo cautioned. Lucina and Cynthia nodded, each rushing to a port. Cynthia grabbed a lance that was leaning against the bulkhead, taking a deep breath and gripping it tightly before flinging open the port. She had lost the good humor and excitement from earlier in the fight, and Lucina noted the deep lines of concern in her brow as she thrust the lance out in front of her with a yell. Lucina turned towards her own port, mimicking Cynthia with a deep breath before throwing back the latch and swinging it open. She leaned out slowly. She was much closer to the water, now, with waves sloshing against the side of the ship no less than six feet below. She looked down, and saw a myriad of red eyes look up at her. In a panic, she pulled out Falchion, wildly hacking downward at the corpses, unable to see anything but their eyes. They sank, hissing and screeching. A few pulled away from the ship’s timbers and out towards open water, where they were felled with arrows and a flash of green fire.

“This one’s clear!” Cynthia called, as she moved over to the next. Lucina glanced out her own opening. She could see no more flashes of red. Deeming it clear, she latched it and moved over one. She could see nothing. She moved over again. Still no signs of red.

“I think we’re clear… I can’t see any more of them.” Lucina said, turning her head towards Cynthia and Inigo while still leaning over the frame of the port. Without warning there was a mighty splash and a corpse leapt from the water, latching on to Lucina’s left wrist with one hand. She shrieked, bracing her legs against the bulkhead inside the ship to stop from tumbling to the water below. They hung there, Lucina not daring to move for fear of falling, as the corpse slowly raised an axe with its other arm.

“Help!” Lucina cried. Unable to maneuver her right arm through the port, she simply dug Falchion into the deck at her feet, steadying herself further, and tried to pull her wrist from the monster’s grasp.

“Don’t move, Luci!” Cynthia called. The corpse swung its axe back and Lucina clenched her eye shut. Then there was a blinding flash of light, and a crackling _BOOM_ that left the hair on Lucina’s arms standing on end, and she felt the weight on her wrist instantly disappear. Cracking her eye open, she glanced down at her arm. Only a single, smoking hand remained.

“Eugh!” She yelped, shaking it off and dropping it into the sea below. She drew farther inside the hold, far away from the port, and looked over at Cynthia, who was clutching her large, yellow tome, and shaking the smoke from her hand.

“Just in the nick of time!” She tried for a grin, though she looked as shaken as Lucina felt. Inigo ran to Lucina’s side.

“Are you alright? It didn’t hurt you, did it? I’ve never seen one do that before…”

“I’m fine, Inigo. Thank you, Cynthia,” Lucina said in a shaky voice. Cynthia carefully peeked out of the rest of the ports.

“I think that was the last of them…” She murmured. “Let’s get up there and check in with the captain.” Lucina gladly left the hold, wrapping her arms around herself protectively as she walked behind Cynthia, who lit every lamp she passed with a flick of her finger. She had swapped her big, yellow tome for a smaller, red one. They reached the top deck, and saw the rest of the crew gathering in a little knot near the ship’s wheel. Kjelle clanked up to them.

“The boat stopped rocking. Did you get them all?” She said, in a low voice.

“I think so…” Inigo said, glancing at Cynthia for confirmation. Cynthia gave a silent nod.

“How’s it looking, Nah?” Kjelle shouted to the dragon who was circling the ship. Nah swooped toward the deck, assuming her regular form and landing gracefully.

“All clear. No sign of movement.” Nah reported, moving to stand by Lucina.

“We can’t see anything further out, either,” Said Noire, as she walked towards the group, Severa clambering back down the ratlines behind her. Laurent silently waved a hand and the curl of flames floating above the masts faded away, revealing the black fabric of the sky studded with stars.

“Alright, _what_ was that?” Severa snapped, sauntering up to the group.

“Yes, that was… very different.” Noire said quietly. Yarne nodded, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. Gerome lit a lantern, holding it aloft to lend the light to the little gathering. The light from flames flickered over his mask, leaving half his face in shadow.

“They’ve never behaved like that before. It was almost as if… they were acting under orders. As if something was telling them what to do.” He said, grimly.

“One of them nearly got Lucina,” Cynthia added quietly. “It hid under water and jumped out when she thought the coast was clear.”

“They shouldn’t be able to do that, it makes no sense!” Laurent burst out. “They’re _corpses_ ! Reanimated by some means, but with no mental capacity whatsoever. From what I’ve deducted thus far, they’re driven solely by their desire to attack living beings, nothing more. This… synchronized pushing of the boat… working together, hiding under water… it doesn’t make any _sense_.”

“If the brainiac over there doesn’t know what’s happening, we’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell of figuring it out,” Severa scoffed.

“Calm down,” Kjelle snapped. “Sure, we don’t know what’s going on or why their behavior’s changed. But does that really matter? This doesn’t change our mission. We’ll keep doing what we have to do.”

“Gawds! Are you stupid? _Obviously_ it matters! We need to know what’s going on or next time, someone might _die_. From what Cynthia said, I take it the newbie almost bit the dust tonight. What’ll we do about the weak links next time, huh?”

“Now hold on, Severa-” Owain said.

“Excuse me, did you just call your captain stupid?” Kjelle said, temper flaring instantly.

“So what if I did?” Severa retorted.

“Um, excuse me… will someone please explain to me what exactly those things were?” Lucina carefully edged her way into the conversation.

“Why don’t we go down to the galley and have a hot drink? We can discuss everything down there!” Nah said, attempting to diffuse the situation.

“Y-yes! That sounds like a g-good plan to me!” Noire added on.

“No, I think we’ll discuss this out here. Now, what were you saying to me, Severa?!” Kjelle said, stepping closer to Severa.

“SHUT IT, YOU PUNY MORTALS! STOP ARGUING AND COME TO THE GALLEY BEFORE I WIPE YOU ALL OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH!” Noire roared. Everyone jumped.

“Alright, let’s go! I, for one, don’t want to get smote! … Smited? Whatever.” Nah said, corralling the crew towards the hatch. Severa looked like she wanted to say something, but Noire put a gentle hand on her arm and she backed down, content with shooting a smoldering glare in Kjelle’s direction.

 

* * *

 

The galley was uncomfortably silent. Kjelle and Severa had seated themselves at the opposite ends of the biggest table, purposefully avoiding eye contact. The rest of the crew had gathered around the edges of the table, clumped together in an effort to be as far as possible from the two incensed girls. Despite the sweat that Lucina had been drenched in earlier, a few stray shivers had started to wrack down her spine. It was still technically late summer, but the nights had gotten cold. The ports were still closed from the battle, and the close proximity of the entire crew in one cabin was beginning to warm the place up. The silence was broken as Yarne maneuvered his way out of the kitchen, balancing a tray of steaming mugs in his arms.

“Hot cider,” He said, ears twitching. “Don’t have too much of it left, but I thought this was as good a time as any to have some.”

“Thank you, Yarne.” Kjelle said coldly. She picked up her mug and slurped threateningly in Severa’s direction. Lucina hadn’t been aware that slurping threateningly was possible, but Kjelle seemed to be a master of the art. Severa simply sniffed, cupping her hands around her cider and flipping her ponytails over her shoulders.

“Right, then. Lucina, I believe you asked what those things were?” Laurent began. Lucina nodded. “We call them the Risen. No one knows where they come from, what they are, or why they’re attacking. In fact, most people don’t know they exist. The only thing we know is that they’re moving corpses. Reanimated with some sort of dark magic. The most complex thing they seem to be capable of is to attack anything living… or, so we thought. Our battle today seems to have turned that on its head.”

“Which is a big problem,” Severa interjected, and Kjelle scoffed. “If they’re capable of more than we thought, that makes them all the more dangerous. At this rate, we might not be able to handle them all ourselves.”

“And what do you suggest we do? Tell the Ylissean army? We can’t just waltz up to them, we’re _wanted_ for Naga’s sake!” Kjelle said loudly. “We’ve handled them fine up ‘til now, all we have to do is change up our strategy in order to take care of these new behaviours.”

“Are you out of your mind? Don’t be a fool, didn’t you hear what Laurent said?” Severa snapped, jumping to her feet and slamming her mug on the table. Kjelle leapt up as well, a growl growing in her throat.

“Alright, that’s enough of that! Calm down, everyone!” Owain bounded up on the table, hands raised and fingers pointing at both Severa and Kjelle. “Arguing won’t get us anywhere.” He waited until both captain and lookout had taken their seats again, before hopping down.

“While I agree with Kjelle that continuing to fight the Risen is all we can really do for the moment, I also think it’s important to note what Severa said, and look into why they’ve changed.” He said, before finally taking his own seat.

“...Like I said before,” Gerome said in the following silence. “They wouldn’t be able to do this on their own. Something must be giving them orders, and that thought alone is more than enough reason to be concerned. I doubt this will be an isolated incident.”

“The real question is, if they’re smart enough - or if whoever is controlling them is smart enough - to change their battle tactics against us, isn’t there a chance that they’d try to bypass us completely and get to shore?” Inigo added, stroking his chin pensively.

“N-now there’s a scary thought…” Yarne said, looking alarmed.

“We’ll have to work twice as hard to intercept them all before they get to shore, if that’s the case.” Nah murmured.

Lucina sat in silence, mulling over all that had been laid bare before her. She was in the middle of the ocean, on a small boat, with a group of teenagers whose sole purpose was to fight the dead. What had she gotten herself into?

“And how do you propose to figure this out?” Kjelle had gotten to her feet yet again. “Each and every one of you keep talking about ‘looking into this,’ but how are you going to do that? I’m telling you, there’s nothing we _can_ do except continuing to fight them!” The captain’s face had turned bright red, and she was furiously glaring at the rest of the crew. Silently, she drew herself up to her full height, and turned on her heel.

“Don’t come and bother me unless you’ve got a _real_ plan.” She spat, and stormed out of the galley. The clanking of her armor faded down the passageway. Nobody made a noise.

“Well, our _captain_ certainly lost her temper.” Severa drawled, her eyes hard as stone.

“What should we do, Owain?” Noire said in a small voice. Owain sighed, rubbing the heel of his palms over tired eyes.

“I say we drop this conversation for now, and revisit it after the sun has graced us with her presence. For now, I don’t feel all that comfortable dropping anchor here. After that battle. I’d prefer if we could put on a little distance. We can get by with a skeleton crew, if some of you feel the need to sleep. Actually, Severa, I think it’s probably for the best if you go cool your head a little, and get some rest.” He said, resting his chin on his fist. Severa got up slowly, and swept out of the cabin. The others stood as well, a few raising their hands as volunteers to man the ship through the night. They began to file out, either to the deck or their own bunks. Lucina was still seated in silence, and as Owain rose to leave, she grabbed his wrist. He turned to look at her, blinking blearily, before understanding crossed his face and he sat back down next to her.

“Ah, yes. I believe… I owe you a bit more of an explanation.” He said, looking down at his feet.

“Yes, I believe you do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not sure I'll be able to keep a weekly update schedule, seeing how busy I am. I also don't want to promise anything and then disappoint. So I'll be trying for biweekly, but updates are definitely going to be a bit more sporadic! I apologize in advance. Aside from that, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you did, please leave a comment!! They make me very happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Since I've actually worked on writing a few chapters ahead as a buffer before posting this story, I should (with any luck) be able to stick to a weekly update schedule. See you next week!! And if you've got anything to say, comments always make my day!


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